Flowers Takes Charge

ST. JOSEPH, MO - Early Saturday afternoon, Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Todd Haley told the media he was looking for leaders but he wanted the process to be a natural one. And on Saturday, he just might have found one.

With some banter that the Kansas City Chiefs were trying to ship Cornerback Brandon Flowers to another team in the offseason, the four-year veteran doesn't appeared to be fazed by that gossip. Nor does he appear to be a man worrying about his next big contract.

Instead he's looking forward to the upcoming season and is more than willing than at any other point in his career to become a leader of not only the defense, but the entire Chiefs team.

“I've been around this team since I came in as a rookie," Flowers said after Saturday's practice. “I had to step in as a rookie and play. A lot of the guys that were here my rookie year are not here anymore so I'm one of the older guys on the team so it's no problem stepping up. We gotta mentor these young guys to build a championship team around here.”

With some of his teammates MIA until the 4th of August, Flowers has the honor of working with some young seasoned and unseasoned secondary mates. One of those players is converted wide receiver, Quinten Lawrence. Throughout the afternoon, Lawrence rarely left Flowers side at any point on Saturday.

Lawrence joined the Chiefs as a sixth round pick back in 2009. And it didn't take long for the coaches to notice his exception speed. So after making numerous stops from the active roster to the practice squad, the Chiefs opted to transition Lawrence to the defensive side of the ball.

The new position isn't foreign to Lawrence. He played some defensive back at McNeese State and when Matt Cassel held his mini-camp. And although there will be a learning curve for Lawrence, his teammates see the brimming talent.

"Quinten Lawrence is a talented gifted guy”, said Flowers. “I just tell him to let go. He learned the techniques we learned in the film room so he won't have a hard transition.”

But for Flowers, he is just enjoying the comfort of being an experienced veteran in a camp were a lot of young guys are feeling anything but secure.

“I've never been away from football this long. I feel like a kid again just getting out there. I'm flying around, having fun and making plays.”

And unlike some of the younger players, Flowers feels the extra time during the off season made him a better player.

“The locked out off season just gave me time to work on my craft and master my technique”, said Flowers. “I feel like I'm going to come in this year better and stronger because I had extra time to work on my technique.”

So with no senior leadership past himself, who does Flowers lean on?

“We lean on each other”, said the emerging leader Flowers. “(Brandon) Carr, Eric Berry, we keep each other going. Nobody feels like this is my first year, this is my second year. We just go out there and have fun. That’s why we are going to be much stronger this year.”

WARPAINT ILLUSTRATED MESSAGE BOARDS:
Brandon Flowers appears like a highly motivated player ready to lead the Chiefs young defense.

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